Lover
by licensedtobuild
Summary: Weddings, kisses, songbirds, love and chocolate chip cookies. Set between Patriot and Defender. AU


You take your time combing your long black hair and drying it before getting dressed. Only when you're satisfied that the knots are gone and your hair rests in a long black sheet down your back do you open the closet to reveal your dress uniform. Brittany wanted you to wear a dress, but now that don't ask, don't tell has been repealed, you feel no shame in putting on your uniform and marrying the woman you love.

It's still surreal to you, everything that's happened in the last few months. It still seems impossible that you're married to Brittany, legally. You can protect your country as a gay American, but more than that, you can protect your family and that's all you can think of right now.

You tuck your shirt into your slacks, and give them a tug, making sure that the creases are still razor sharp. Your jacket is next: all your stripes in their proper position, your creases sharp. Your uniform is perfectly crisp, and you smile, knowing that Commander Holloway would be proud. To your surprise, Lily comes scampering into the guest room where you are dressing. She lands gracefully in front of you and twirls, her purple dress and blonde hair fanning out as she spins.

"What do you think, Mom?" she asks, folding her hands behind her back. You smile and run a hand through her hair.

"Perfect, Lily-bear," you murmur. "Do you want me to braid your hair for you?" She nods eagerly and hands you a purple ribbon. "French, fish, or regular?

"Regular, please." You kneel behind her, and make quick work of weaving her hair together and tying the ribbon around it. You never braid your own hair, but you've had over a decade of practice braiding Brittany's, so your daughter's hair ends up flawless.

"Perfect," you declare, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. "You're my perfect little angel." Without warning, you sweep her into your arms, squeeze tightly, and blow a loud raspberry onto her cheek.

"Mom!" she squeals, and dissolves into giggles, squirming in your arms. You kiss her cheek and laugh with her as you stand.

"You ready, ring-bear?" She nods and grabs your hand, leading you out the door. Your heart is already beginning to race, and you wipe nervous sweat from your forehead.

"Lookin' good, soldier," Puck says. He, Quinn and Isabelle are waiting at the bottom of the stairs for you. Puck agreed to be your best man, and is dressed to the nines in his best suit, his hair remotely combed for a change. You hug him gently. "You owe me big for this one, Lopez. She made me get a haircut," he whispers into your ear.

"The liquor's free, so maybe you should thank me," you snark and thump him hard on the back before turning to Quinn, Brittany's maid of honor. Your words catch in your throat; she's dressed in a long pink sundress and has her hair tied back in a pink ribbon, but she still manages to look angelic. "Quinn, you look..." Your voice trails off, but she smiles.

"Thanks, Santana," she says. "I didn't want to take away from you or Brittany." She pulls you into a quick hug. "Now get out there and marry your girl." she smiles and shoves you toward your backyard.

You are in shock at what they've done. A red carpet has been rolled out leading to a small stage erected in front of your hedges. Ten chairs are set up, already occupied by the various friends you've invited. You tug at your uniform jacket, take a deep breath and stride down the carpet. Mercedes is officiating today, though just as a formality. You're already technically married, so this is just the fancy part, the part that Brittany really wanted to have. She gave you the sad puppy dog eyes, pleading with you to have a ceremony with your friends, and, of course, you agreed.

You hug Mercedes when you reach the stage. "Thanks for doing this," you whisper. "It means a lot to both of us."

"You guys are the pair that's meant to be together. It's my pleasure." You pull away and turn to the door. Music starts playing, and Lily appears in the doorway looking a little nervous. You beckon her toward you, but she shakes her head. All eyes in the audience are on her and she's turning pink. You smile gently before walking down the aisle and kneeling in front of her.

"Want me to walk with you?" you ask and she nods. You stick your hand out and coax her down the carpet to a chorus of "Awwww." You keep her hand in yours as Puck and Quinn come arm in arm towards you. Puck kisses Quinn's cheek as they separate, Puck coming toward you and Quinn standing opposite. Puck winks at you and jerks his head toward the doorway.

Brittany is standing there, a bouquet of daisies in hand. Your jaw drops at the sight of her: she's dressed in a beautiful white dress, and her hair is hanging loose down her back. For a second you swear there's a halo glowing around her head.

"She's beautiful," you whisper to no one in particular. She walks slowly toward you, turning pink as everyone stares at her. As she reaches the stage, you feel your knees wobble a bit and your face flush; it's like falling in love with her all over again.

She's about to hand the bouquet to Quinn, but you grab it and pluck one of the smaller daisies from it. With one gentle finger, you tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear, and slip the daisy in so it nestles perfectly next to her blue eyes.

"Perfect," you whisper, taking her hand in your free one. She smiles the same shy grin you've known for nearly fifteen years, and squeezes your hand.

"Friends, we are invited here today to bear witness to a renewal of love. We have seen these two extraordinary women as their passion for each other has grown and their love remained just as strong as when they first met. These two have survived a lot for such a young couple. They managed to bring an angel into this world-" you glance down at Lily, whose hand you squeeze, "and have survived Santana's two tours of duty. They've committed themselves to each other already, but having witnessed legislation that has 'legalized' their love, they are here to make it official. What they have here is something beautiful and amazing, something I hope that we can all find." Brittany's already tearing up, and you stare into her watery eyes, knowing that everything Mercedes has said is true. "Do you, Brittany Pierce, promise to love and cherish Santana, to protect your loyal soldier, to commit your heart fully to her and to take her as your lawfully wedded wife?"

"Absolutely," she says through the tears dripping down her cheeks. You can feel your eyes burning as well, and you smile as Lily hands her the ring and she slips it onto your finger.

"Do you, Santana Lopez, promise to protect Brittany, to care for her, to trust her and defend her, to love her unconditionally and to take her as your lawfully wedded wife?" A single tear drips down your cheek, and you nod.

"Always." Your voice is hoarse, but Brittany's perfect smile grows even more, when you slip a ring onto her finger.

"Well, by the power vested in me by the District of Columbia, I hereby pronounce you, finally, legally married. Do you want to kiss or something?" You both laugh, and you pull Brittany's face toward yours, pressing your mouth to hers with a hunger you hadn't expected. Her hands find their way to your head, and you feel your cap knocked to the ground but you don't care. You are finally married, and you feel your ecstasy pouring out your fingers and your toes and the top of your head.

You don't pull away until you hear laughter. To your surprise, Lily has picked your cap up and plopped it onto her head. Without a word, as the music starts playing again, you reach for Lily with your left hand and pull her in between you and Brittany, who grabs her other hand. Together you walk down the aisle, your daughter between you, and back into the house. You reach up to Brittany's face and wipe away the tear tracks from her cheeks.

"Mommy, why are you crying?" Lily asks. You scoop her into your arms, return your cap to your head and kiss her cheek.

"Because, Lils, it's a really special day today, and because I love Mom so much," Brittany answers hoarsely before kissing Lily's head. "And because you were so brave being the ring-bear."

"So... What happens now?" Lily asks, looking between you and Brittany. Your friends are starting to filter into your living room, and pour themselves drinks.

"We have a little party," you answer. "Let's go get you some apple cider." As you make your way toward the drink table that Puck set up, Lily clinging tightly to your hand, Kurt appears, making a beeline toward you. "Look, it's Uncle Kurt," you tell Lily.

"Hey, goober," he says, kissing her forehead and making her blush. She has always liked Kurt; you suspect it has something to do with the fact that his son Evan is one of the cutest little boys this side of the Mississippi.

Kurt hands you the champagne flute in his left hand, and you can't help but notice the silver band adorning his ring finger. You accept the champagne with a grin, flashing a similar silver band on your ring finger.

"To finally tying the knot, legally," you declare, raising your glass to him. He clinks his against yours and smiles.

"Congrats, Santana." You smile and walk with Lily to the kitchen, fielding various congratulations from your guests before finally filling her princess cup with cider. She drains it quickly, before almost pleading with you to fill it again, which you do.

You smile as you hear the first chords of a beautiful piano song playing on your stereo system, and Puck trying to get everyone's attention.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the new couple to have their first dance together." You set your glass on the counter and straighten your cap.

"Mom?"

"It's okay, angel," you murmur to her. "I have to go dance with

Mommy right now, but I'll be right back, okay?" She nods, and you turn to seek out Brittany, nearly jumping out of your uniform when she appears right next to you. You offer her your left hand with a grin. "May I have this dance?" Brittany giggles at the question and takes it.

"Of course," she whispers coyly, putting her left hand on your shoulder. You tug her waist in closer to you and stare into her beautiful blue eyes. You never thought it possible that she could grow more beautiful, but as you sway back and forth together and pose for the various pictures Quinn is taking, you realize that she is indeed more perfect than anything else. You find yourself singing the lyrics quietly into Brittany's ear.

"And the songbirds keep singing like they know the score, and I love you, I love you, I love you like never before." Brittany kisses your cheek gently.

"I love you too, Santana."

Other couples have begun to filter onto the dance floor and dance together. You see Lily still waiting for you and beckon her over.

"Lily, will you dance with me?" you plead, doffing your cap and bowing to her. She giggles and you hoist her into your arms right as a more peppy song picks up on the stereo. Pretty soon, you're laughing and grooving out together, nearly oblivious to the camera flashes going off. Brittany has backed up against the wall, but she's smiling at you.

"Family photo!" Quinn declares, pushing Brittany towards you. She wraps an arm around you and Lily, and kisses Lily's cheek. You smile, almost diabolically, before ruining the moment and blowing another loud raspberry into Lily's other cheek right as the flash goes off.

X

You wake up the next morning to a beam of near blinding sunlight across your face. One glance at the clock explains why you're alone in bed; it's 11:30. Brittany's always been an early riser, and you've been the one to sleep the sleep of the dead. You manage to hoist yourself out of bed and hang your carelessly tossed uniform back up in the closet, dusting bits of carpet fuzz from it and tugging at the creases. Your wedding glints in the sunlight and still feels a bit heavy on your hand, almost like a foreign object that doesn't belong there, but you shrug away the feeling. You're a newlywed. It's okay to feel a bit weird… right?

By the time you pull on a pair of gym shorts and make your way downstairs, Brittany's already tidying the kitchen and Lily's munching on a chocolate chip cookie. Despite the fact that it's nearly the same scene you've been waking up to since Lily was born, it feels strange for some reason. All the colors seem brighter and the chocolate chips smell more chocolatey, but that might be the mild hangover from the previous night. You cross the kitchen silently, wrap your arms around Brittany's waist, and kiss her bare shoulder gently. She isn't even surprised and runs a hand through your loose hair.

"Ah, about time you surfaced," she murmurs gently. You grab a cookie from the rack, roll your eyes with a grin and kiss the top of Lily's head.

"Good morning to you, too," you reply, trying to sound sarcastic, but ending up far more cheerful than normal. "Sleep well, angel?" you ask Lily before biting into your cookie.

"Uh huh. I only woke up when Uncle Puck came over."

"Puck?" You turn to Brittany and raise an eyebrow. "And what was _Uncle Puck_ doing here at a relatively early hour?" you inquire. There was a higher chance of being attacked by a shark and struck by lightning at the same time than there was of Noah Puckerman showing up anywhere before noon.

Brittany tilts her head toward the living room. "See for yourself. It was quite the surprise this morning." You walk into the living room, turn to the fireplace and find that somehow your jaw ended up on the floor.

Somehow, someway, Puck and Quinn had the "family picture" blown up within 24 hours. The scene of you blowing a raspberry into Lily's cheek is quadruple normal size, framed in dark mahogany and currently hanging over your mantle. By the time you manage to close your mouth, Brittany is standing next to you, head cocked to the side.

"You know," she begins, "It's not quite the 'family picture' I had been hoping for." You turn to her, almost nervously. She looks serious but you can't tell if she's pissed off.

"I love it," you declare and Brittany turns to you, lips pursed. "Yeah, it's an honest, candid photo of our family." You're making it up as you go, but so far Brittany seems to not want to kill you for ruining the picture. "I mean, no other picture I have ever seen captures an honest-to-god moment like this does. Would you rather remember our wedding through some phony posed photos, or through your giggling daughter and your crazy soldier wife being goofy?" To your relief, Brittany grins.

"Yeah, it's perfect." You sigh in relief and press your lips against hers.

"I love you. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone else in this world," you whisper against her.

"I love you, too, Santi."

_They say that every one _

_thousand years a love may come, _

_To wrap you up and tie your bones, _

_To steal your flesh and save your soul, _

_Take you to the great unknown, _

_Well I've got mine._

**(Song: Lover – Tom Goss)**


End file.
